Crossfire
by If You're a Bird I'm a Bird
Summary: Rowan and Rosalyn have been friends for years, meeting at Xavier's Academy. But what happens when they're separated for years and then the threat of Loki and his army comes upon them?


**Hi! I'm back! Sorry for the absence, college literally took over my life.  
****Recently, I have been so obsessed with superheroes. Mostly Stan Lee's creations. Words cannot describe how much I love Stan Lee for creating these superheroes. Omg.  
****Anyway, the co-author for this FF is **_AwesomePersonlolxx_** who – coincidentally – shares my love for superheroes. It's stuff like this that makes us best friends really.  
****So yeah, please read! If it's good or need criticisms for improvement, just drop a review  
****It is based during the Avengers...sort of. If you get lost, just ask  
**_**WE OWN NOTHING. THEY ARE STAN LEE'S CREATIONS. BUT WE DO OWN UNFAMILIAR CHARACTERS SUCH AS ROWAN AND ROSALYN.**_

Prologue

This was possibly the worst goodbye of her life. That's including the death of her parents, Jean Grey and Scott Summers (not that she missed her jealous mother). She never really got to say goodbye to them, she never got to say goodbye to her father, and that killed her a little inside. But it's all in the past. Right now, she was readying herself to say good bye to her best friend, to whom she considered family, Rosalyn Stark.

It was definitely something easier said than done. Rowan loved her more than anyone, she was all she had; excluding Logan and Storm, and a few other mutants. Rosalyn's father, realising she was a mutant, sent her to Xavier Institute for the Gifted and Talented so she could learn to try to control her power. Since then, Rowan and Rosalyn had been inseparable ever since, despite Rowan being two years older. Rowan protected the younger girl when the others picked on her for her uncontrollable powers, having nearly blown up the mansion once or twice, and Rosa made Rowan laugh when she was sad or angry at her mother. Rosalyn Stark was something that Rowan Summers never wanted to lose in her life. She'd already lost so much, she was not about to lose Rosa.

Rowan sighed as she gently placed the last photo of her father into her black leather rucksack, knowing that her chocolate brown eyes would be filled with jumbled emotions, and zipped it up. It was a photo taken with her. Scott had tried to teach his daughter how to ride his bike.

Rowan couldn't settle her emotions. She was incredibly sad and excited at the same time. _Is that even possible?_, she thought to herself. _My emotions are everywhere! Dear God_.

You see, Rowan was going to work for SHIELD, a thrilling and amazing prospect. The only problem was that she was leaving the place she had lived in her whole life, the place that held so many sad, yet so many happy memories for her. Her Dad reading her stories before bed, practicing her telekinetic powers in her bedroom, late night giggles with her best friend, her first crush. She found herself smiling. This place was her home. But she _was_ happy to leave in some ways. She wanted to be able to save people without being part of the X-Men. The memories would only distract her from the job at hand, and she wanted to be able to fight with the best of her ability. She just loved and hated this damn place.

Heaving her rucksack up off the bed and swinging it onto her shoulder, she gazed around the room that had been her personal sanctuary of 18 years. It was empty now. Nothing of hers left that once was there, all packed away to be taken to a new place. She turned to look at the bedroom door as it opened, her mocha brown, curly hair whipping around her shoulders. Rowan gave a small smile, seeing that Logan (her legal guardian) stood leaning against the door frame, his arms folded.

"You ready, kid?" Logan asked from the doorway. Rowan nodded slowly before bending down for her large bag that was sat on the floor and swinging it over her free shoulder, getting Logan to carry the others. Walking out of the room, Rowan turned, giving it one last look. Sighing, she shut the door, knowing it wouldn't be _her_ room anymore.

Rowan followed Logan down the stairs, not communicating other than his murmured comment of "this is gonna be hard, kiddo," and stood with him in the entrance hall. She was greeted with the sad faces of the residents, but the one that made her heart drop was that of Rosalyn Stark.

Without thinking she flung her bags on the floor and ran quickly towards Rosalyn, engulfing her in a huge hug. Rosalyn buried her head into Rowan's shoulder, tears falling heavily from her ocean blue eyes.

"I am not abandoning you," Rowan whispered into Rosalyn's hair sternly, tears starting to build in the corners of her eyes. "I would never abandon you, Rosa."

Rosalyn's sobs shook Rowan's body. She couldn't imagine how her best friend could be feeling. Having no other close friends here, memories of her father caring more about his women than her...who knew what was going through her head with Rowan wanting to leave so much.

"Why can't you stay here then?" Rosa sniffled brokenly.

"You know why, Rosa. I just...I can't stay here now I don't have to." Rowan sighed, coming out of the hug. "Anyway, you're sixteen. You can take care of yourself now." Rowan tried to joke with a small, half-hearted laugh, which turned out to be more of a bawl. Rowan's tears were now pouring down her cheeks into Rosalyn's dark curly hair.

Rosalyn chuckled through her sobs. "Ha! As if I need you to take care of me." She picked her head up and gave Rowan a watery, sad smile. "Silly Tree," she teased.

Rowan glared at her, tears blurring her vision before they fell. Rosalyn laughed quietly as Rowan smiled at her. _Damn that nickname_, thought Rowan. _But at least only she was allowed to call it me_. Funnily enough, Rowan was named after a tree. When the two girls found out about the origin of the name, it caused Rosa to christen Rowan as 'Tree'. Rowan found it slightly irritating at first but Rosa seemed to think it was pretty funny. Along with most of the other mutants in the Academy. But Rowan wouldn't let it pass anyone other than Rosalyn, without consequences.

The two girls laughed, hugging each other tight again, wet drops streaking down their cheeks. It's good that even in the saddest of times, they could still make each other laugh.

_That's what sisters are for_, thought Rowan.

"Hey Sparks, does anyone else get to say goodbye to Rowan?" The two girls pulled away slightly to see Bobby standing, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Yeah Sparky, give someone else a turn," Logan mocked, winking at Rosa from the door.

Rosalyn's cheeks coloured a light pink before she scowled at the men. "Hey, she's my best friend! I can take as long as I like!" she cried.

Rowan chuckled before pulling out of the hug to goodbye to the other mutants and friends.

"Hey Row," Bobby said softly, enveloping the girl into a hug; Rowan pushed against his chest (as she only stood at 5'3) with her arms wrapped around him. Bobby squeezed Rowan tightly before pulling away, leaving the girl gasping for air."Gonna miss your gift around here. Made it easier to play pranks," he teased, grinning.

"Oh thanks, Mr Iceman," Rowan said sarcastically, rolling her eyes playfully. Bobby was one of the only other mutants that Rowan really got along with. He was a good friend and she knew he'd keep an eye on Rosalyn for her.

"Oh, right, yeah, I might miss you too," he winked. Rowan gave a light gasp before smacking him before moving to say her goodbyes to the rest of the mutants. They all wished her good luck and the best. Rowan frowned, realising that she didn't really realise how much they thought of her, Scott Summers' daughter. It made her heart swell and plummet at the same time. She felt loved.

_This really was a family_. The only other person she hadn't spoken to was Rogue, someone who she most definitely did not get on with. She hated Rowan. Rowan suspected it was because they both had taken a shining to Logan when he first came to the academy, creating some kind of rivalry. Rowan couldn't really say that she was too bothered. Rowan _was _older and thought Rogue to be an 'annoying cow'. _Good riddance_!

Everyone scattered, waving, so Rowan could finally have a proper goodbye with her best friend. Rowan turned to face Rosa by the door. She stood with her head facing the floor and her hands clasped down in front of her. Her shoulder shook.

"Rosa," Rowan exhaled sadly. Rowan walked to stand before the dark haired brunette. How were you suppose to say goodbye to someone you've been inseparable with? To the one you call your sister?

Rosalyn lifted her head, silent tears blossoming in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Her blue eyes looked gloomy and murky compared to her normally bright and clear pools of colour. Rowan knew this was painful for her. That made it even harder than it already was. "Do you have to go?" she asked miserably.

Rowan nodded, tears springing to her eyes once more.

A blubber escaped Rosa's throat. "But...what am I supposed to do? No one else here likes me! I'm going to be alone!"

"They do like you! Why wouldn't they like you?" Rowan cut her off before the brown eyed girl could say something like she'd 'nearly blown them all up', or 'fried them', or just because she 'was annoying'. "Anyway, you'll still see me, I'm not that far away. You'll even have a room in my house so you can stay with me at weekends and holidays! Well...when you're not at your Mum's or Stark's – "

"All my life I've been used. The only friends, if you can call them that, I had before I came here just hung around with me because I was Tony Stark's daughter." Rosalyn snapped harshly, things Rowan already knew."Nobody liked me for me!" She scowled at the floor whilst Rowan looked at her sorrowfully, not quite knowing what she could say or do to help.

Rowan didn't want her best friend to feel this way, but what could she do about things that had already happened to her?

"Once they got what they wanted," Rosalyn continued, "they abandoned me! And to make it all worse, my own father cared more about...about his..._women_ than he did about me! He's never been a father to me. Not really."

"Rosa – "

"And then I came here." she looked straight at Rowan with her fierce, blue eyes. "And you were my friend. My first real, _honest_ friend. My family, my _sister_. You even let me listen to the stories your Dad read to you. Let me share your precious time with your Dad, so I wasn't alone. Look what's happening now...I'm losing you."

"You are _not_ losing me, Rosa." Rowan told her firmly. Tears leaked from Rosalyn's burning pools like rivers, as she stared at Rowan brokenly. "Are you listening to me? You will _never_ lose me, I will never abandon you. _Never_."

Rowan swung my arms around Rosalyn and hugged her tightly, trying to show the honesty in her words. Rosalyn hugged back, and the two friends stood there for a few longs moments, squeezing the life out if one another as their tears soaked into each other's hair.

"I'm sorry to break you guys up, because, trust me, I know never to cross emotional women...but Rowan, we need to go." Logan's voice floated from beside the front doors.

Rowan and Rosalyn pulled away and laughed to each other, seeing how dramatic they were both acting.

"I have to give you something." Rowan unzipped her rucksack, pulled out a thick book and placed it into Rosa's pale, unusually small hands. "I ordered it when I decided to take the offer from SHIELD."

"Is this what I think it is?" Rosalyn asked, her eyes wide with excitement and happiness.

"Yep," Rowan chuckled. "An exact copy of the fairy tale book my Dad used to read to me, us." Rowan smiled at the book fondly. "I thought, since I'd be taking the original, I'd better get one so you can still read the stories you love." The two girls gave each other wet smiles.

"Thank you." Rosalyn whispered, hugging the book tightly to her chest.

"Well, what are sisters for?" Rowan chuckled, adding a wink.

They gave each other one last hug before Rowan sighed, then headed towards Logan and the door.

_Ready to leave this place at last_, she thought.

"Oh," Rowan started, turning back around to see her watching her walk away, still holding the book to her chest. "We don't wanna be like Cinderella." Rowan grinned at the motto the two girls made when thinking about how 'princesses were wimps'.

Rosalyn smirked. "Nah, we'd rescue ourselves."

"Goodbye, Rosa."

"It's not goodbye. Not really."

**So the prologue was finally written, thanks to **_AwesomePersonlolxx_**. I really struggled with the prologue, so thank you to PJ! :D  
****This is just the prologue, so give the story a chance once it kicks off!  
****Please review, it would mean the world to us!**


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